FIGHTING AT THE DARDANELLES

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 348, 15 December 1915, Page 3

FIGHTING AT THE DARDANELLES

STRONG ENTRENCHMENTS.

MINING. AND COUNTER-MINING

(Prom MalcoLm Ross, Official War Corrcsondent iwth the N.Z. Forces.)

GALLIPOLI PEN., 22nd Oct

For some considerable time now since the fight for Hill GO, in which the New Zealand mounted troops distinguished themselves by their brilllalt charge and their sustained valour in holding the position gained—the operation* along the entire front in the three sector's have been on a minor scale, and the New Zealanders, who have been earning a well-deserves rest, have taken no part in them. Generality speaking, the positions gained have been improved and strengthened. and alon the lines in other places sapping and mining have been carried on Jjy both sides. The Turks, who seem r K have an army of diggers, have made their positions on the heights at Chunuk Bair and also at Suvla very strong. Trenches seem to grow in a night, and the hiUs and slopes are scarred and criss-crossed Avith yellow earth thrown up from trench and sav>. Sand-bagged parapets and barbed wire entanglements grow along the Mnes in spite of the fire from our guns both on land sea. Our men have been equally busy, and in the sapping and mining, but more especially the latter, the honours have been with us. Hitherto the New Zealanders and . the Australians, with picked men who have spent most of their lives in coal and gold fields, have done splendid work. Mining in ponce time has its dangers and excitements, but in war time, when, instead of the "black diamonds" and the grey quartz the miner is out to circumvent and kill his fellGn-man, his job is indeed a nerve-racking one. When you have crawled on all fours into one of the dark "listening galleries," have heard the tap-tap of a Turkish pick only a few feet away, and know that you may not be far from Kingdom-come, and that the men who spend hours of their existence in these cramped and gloomy positions are indeed heroes. You never know the moment your shattered body may be hurtling heavenward, bruised and battered and Weeding, amidst a cloud ■ of earth and stones and smoke and gas, or buried in the suffocating fumes and the debris of the tunnel itself.

The British troops, also, have picked men for this work —men who have been accustomed to mining"—and they, too, have been doing splendid work, and, generally, - beating the Turk at the game. Early in the month a mining company, at the eastern end of what is known as the Fusilier Blufr firing-line, successfully exploded a mine which destroyed part of the enemy 's trench and sent a number of Turks and a machine-gun hurtling into the air. Such surprises are apt to be rather nerve-shattering even to the placid and fatalistic Turk, and to leave him little time to call on Alliih. On the following day the troops in this

instance established a ost on the iip of the crater, thus denying it to, the enemy. Next day (7th October) our indefatigable miners exploded another mine near the former one, and on Uto Sth a further one betewen these two. These explosions damaged the enemy's firing-ifine and wire, and buried one of their barricades. Again, at the Lone Pine position the Australians exploded a mine 'which damaged the enemy's gallery. During last ewek there was little of interest in connection with the operations above ground, but on both sides there was considerable mining activity. The inferiority of the Turk in this form of warfare was again exemplified, for at Hill (SO the Turks exploded - mine iwth disastrous results to themselves. This was on the 11th instant. When at the premeditated hour the miner lit his fuse he found that he had made a slSght mistake in his calculations, for it was his own trench and entanglements and not ours that shot up into the air. In another par: of our line, however, the enemy was

more successful, for he succeeded in exploding a mine right under our trendies. Fortunately, for some time our miners had heard their rivals at work below them, and. expecting an explosion, the garrison had already been withdrawn. Five of our miners working underground were buried hy this explosion, and given up as lost. Three days later, having dug themselves out, they reappeared, to the surprise and joy of their comrades, little the worse for their trying ordeal'! DESULTORY FIG HTING. At intervals desultory fightingbreaks out at unexpected times in various times in various places along the line. On the 6th October our guns attacked the Turkish position along the crest of Kiretch Tepe Sirt, a 200metre ridge due north from our leftwing tenches at Suvla. At 4 p.m. [two battleships opened fire with their 12inch guns from Suvla Bay. and a monitor further up the eoast chipped in with high explosive, fire being directed against the enemy's support and communication trenches over a eon-

siderable area, as ewll as against their main trenches. The enemy replied with their field guns and mtieii-ine-guns, mainly from the south of the ridge. The ships' fire was well directed, and it was evident, that it did considerable damage. About a quarter of an hour later our field artillery joined In the bombardment. This combined effort eventually drove the enemy from the trenches, and they came under effective fire from our machineguns. Later the Turks endeavoured to repair the shattered parapets, and again became a target for our mach-ine-guns.

On the t-Vh October a successful cit.monstration was also made in the First Australian Division area, the warships co-operating with the troops. This commenced at 8.30 p.m.. after dark, the enemy trenches being lighteo up by parachute rockets, while fire was opened on any target disclosed. This drew a heavy and sustained fire rom the enemy.

Two nights ago the Turks were surpried ia the Azmac Deve position, which lies to the eastward of Biyuk Anafurta and to the left and north of the trround held by the New Zealand and Australian Division. Hero a company of Lovat's Scouts left their trenches and gallantly stormed anc* seized a Turkish barricade. This the* converted and strengthened to our onw use, and dug trenches to connect up with it from, our own trencn ■•.•».. Their casualties were only two killed and six wounded. They succeeded in killing fourteen Turks and taking two prisoners.